If I Didn't Have You
by cowgirlangel95
Summary: Riley and Lucas walked down the sidewalk, as they headed to the local bookstore. Mrs. Matthews' birthday was coming up, and Riley had yet to find the perfect gift. But when something unexpected happens, it could change both of the teens' lives...and not necessarily for the better. Set sometime during high school. Riley/Lucas and maybe hints of Maya/Farkle in later chapters
1. Under the Gun

_**A/N: Hello all! Thought it was time to write another Riley/ Lucas fic, this time being a multichapter! Throughout the entire fic, there will be a couple of very minor plot similarities to a season 1 episode of J.A.G. called 'Hemlock' (don't worry, not necessary to watch it! It's not a crossover). For those of you who have seen this episode, then you have a glimpse of what may happen to one of the characters in this fic. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: Don't own anything…**_

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><p>Riley and Lucas walked down the sidewalk, hand in hand, as they headed to the local bookstore. Mrs. Matthews' birthday was coming up, and Riley had yet to find the perfect gift for her. She knew that her mother loved reading, so she figured she would check out what books the small shop had.<p>

Lucas held the door open for Riley, and then followed her inside. At the counter, and older man with gray hair looked up from his magazine and smiled at his customers. "Good evening, Riley, Lucas," he greeted the young couple.

Both of them smiled. "Hello, Mr. Parks. Anything good come in recently?" Riley asked.

The older man chuckled. "You can be the judge yourself," he replied, gesturing towards the bookshelves. "But don't worry; I'm sure you'll find something that you'll like."

"Thank you!"

Riley led Lucas towards the first bookshelf and they began to browse. Every once in a while, one of them would pull a book off the shelf and skim through a part of it. And each time, they set the book back on the shelf, knowing it wasn't something Mrs. Matthews would read.

After about a half hour, Riley removed a thick book from its place on the shelf and began to skim the pages. "Hey Lucas, check this out."

Her boyfriend peeked from around the corner and walked over to her. Once there, he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on top of hers. "Think you found something?"

Riley nodded. "Yeah, it definitely reminds me of something my mom has back home. What do you think?" she asked, holding the book so he could see it better.

Lucas shrugged, not bothering to look. "I don't know, she's your mom!"

Riley let out a fake groan. "You're of no help at all, you know that?" she teased.

Lucas spun her around so she was facing him. "Yep," he teased back, pecking her nose, then placing a kiss on her lips.

During their kiss, the tinkling of a bell sounded as another customer entered the store, and Mr. Parks greeting the new customer.

Riley smiled up at her boyfriend. "Now really…what do you —"

_*BANG*_

The couple froze, both of them looking into each other's frightened eyes, afraid of what just occurred. They heard a soft groan before —

_*BANG*_

Lucas knocked Riley down to the floor and shielded her, afraid that something had flown in their direction. A few moments passed, and all they could hear was each other's rapid breathing and their hearts pounding. He brought himself into a crouching position and peered over the books on a lower shelf, trying to get a better look at the front of the store.

"What—"

Lucas brought a finger to his lips, silently telling Riley to be quiet as he tried to study the situation.

He finally turned to her. "Stay here," he whispered as he shuffled around the corner of the bookshelf towards the counter.

Riley didn't listen completely. She moved herself to the end of the bookshelf and sat on her knees as she peered around the corner to keep her eye on Lucas. He moved slowly towards the front of the store after peering around each corner. After checking around the next corner, he moved a couple steps out, then was turning around to head back to Riley.

_*BANG*_

Riley's mouth dropped in horror as she watched Lucas fall to the ground and lay motionless. She wanted to call out, but nothing came out of her mouth. It felt as if her heart leapt into her throat. The only thing she could do was sit there in shock.

A hooded figure stood up from the side of the counter closest to the exit and walked closer towards Lucas' body. He cocked the gun and aimed at Lucas' head, ready to finish the young teen.

"NO!" a familiar voice screamed. Riley didn't realize who it was until the hooded man looked up and made eye contact with her. She was the one who screamed.

The figure stepped over Lucas and made his way over towards the young girl. Riley tried to scoot herself away from where she was, but realized it wasn't going to do any good. She wouldn't be out of the way in time, and it looked like this guy wasn't going to stop until he found what he was looking for. So, she stood up, gripped the heavy book she had found earlier tightly in her hands, raised it above her head, and waited.

Once she saw the person's gun hand come from around the corner, Riley slammed the book down on his hand, knocking the pistol out of his hands and onto the floor. The hooded man glared at Riley, sending a chill down her spine.

"You little…" he growled as he grabbed ahold of Riley's throat and threw her up against the heavy book case.

Riley kicked and tried to release the man's grip from around her throat so she could breathe, but he strengthened his hold, making her choke even more.

"I'm going to show you what I do to people who interfere," he whispered. He threw her down on the ground and turned around to pick up his pistol from the floor.

Riley placed a hand on her throat and gasped for air. Her eyes focused on where the shooter was headed, and realized that she had to do something now if she was going to survive this encounter. She picked up the book once more and found enough strength to stand and quietly moved closer to him. When he bent down to grab his weapon, Riley brought the book down as hard as she could on the back of the intruder's head, sending him sprawling to the ground.

She tapped the shooter in the side to make sure he was out, then rushed over to her boyfriend's side. "Lucas!" she screamed. Blood was oozing from the back of his head and into the carpet. Riley brought two fingers to the side of his neck. There was a faint pulse, but it was still there. As her eyes filled with tears, she rushed over to check Mr. Parks. She tried to feel for a pulse, but there was nothing.

Riley's hands shook as she reached into her pocket, took out her phone, and dialed 911 as she headed back over to Lucas' side.

"_911 emergency, how may I help you?"_

"P-please help!" Riley said in between sobs. "M-my boyfriend has been shot, the bookstore owner has been…k-killed." Her voice sounded hoarse, and she wasn't sure if it was because she was crying or she was still recovering from when she was choked.

"_Ma'am, where are you? Is the shooter still there?"_

Riley nodded despite the fact she was talking on the phone. "Y-yes, he's still here but I-I m-managed to knock him out somehow. I-I'm at Park's Books."

"_We have a squad car and an ambulance heading to your location now. They should be there in the next couple of minutes. Is there anything else I can do to help you?"_

"N-no, t-thank you," Riley replied, then hung up her phone. She placed her phone back in her pocket and shifted closer to Lucas. Riley took his hand in hers as more sobs wracked her body. "Y-you h-have to stay with me. I-I have no clue if you can hear me, b-but you have to, okay? I-I can't lose you!"

The sirens from the emergency vehicles met Riley's ears. She looked out the window and saw many people from each vehicle step out and rush inside the building, along with some pedestrians wondering what was going on as the police hurried them away from the scene. Riley shifted her focus back to Lucas and placed her head on his chest, letting her tears soak into his shirt.

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><p><em><strong>AN #2: Let me know what you think of it so far! I have an idea for the next four to five chapters, but I can't guarantee when they'll be posted. Unfortunately, college work must come first. Until next time!**_


	2. Hope

_**A/N: It's your lucky day! I was able to find some time to write the second chapter! Again, I'm not sure when I'll be able to update, so no promises for when the next chapter will be up. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: Don't own it; I'm a poor college kid.**_

Riley waited impatiently as one of the EMTs examined her on the sidewalk across the street. Despite her insisting that she was alright, the EMT still checked her over to make sure.

"Everything appears to be okay," the paramedic announced. _I could have told you that_, Riley thought. She wanted to say it out loud, but she held her tongue. "The bruises on your neck should be healed within the next week," he finished, straightening up from his crouched position and heading back into the ambulance.

Riley gripped the blanket one of the EMTs had given her earlier a bit tighter. All she wanted was for this nightmare to end, but she knew that this wasn't a dream; this was real life.

After a few moments, Riley heard hurried footsteps approaching her. She looked up as more tears filled her eyes. It was her parents. Topanga knelt down beside her daughter and gathered the young teen in her arms as her crying intensified. Both Cory and Topanga wanted to say something to help ease the pain their daughter was experiencing, but they weren't sure what to say. They couldn't say everything was going to be alright, because they didn't know that.

Riley pulled herself out of her mother's embrace and buried her face in her hands. Topanga placed her arm around Riley's shoulder, still trying to offer her some comfort. It was at that moment that the news vans pulled up and the TV crews approached the small family.

"Ma'am, ma'am! Can you tell us what happened? What was it like defending yourself from an armed man? Can you give us some details of what went through your mind?" all the reporters buzzed.

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" Riley whimpered.

Hearing her distress, Cory put himself between his daughter and the news crew. "Back off, would you? She's just been through a traumatic experience, and all you care about is your story?" Cory lectured as he began to put some distance in between the two groups. "Here's something for your story. May daughter has declined to release any information at this time. Thank you!"

The disappointed news crews headed back into their vans just as the other EMTs wheeled Lucas out and brought him into the back of the ambulance. Riley looked up and saw this through the tears. It hurt her so much to see him like this. As much as she wanted to rush over there and be with him as they took him to the hospital, she knew she couldn't. No one was allowed in the back of the ambulance. Cory walked back over to his daughter and offered her his hand. "Come on, let's follow them in."

Riley eagerly grabbed ahold of her father's hand and they headed off to their car. The drive over to the hospital didn't take long, thankfully. Once they were there, Riley got out of the car and dashed inside after the paramedics. Several doctors came rushing over towards the gurney and started spouting out medical terms that Riley couldn't understand as they looked over his injuries. One, for still being in high school and not planning on pursuing a medical career, and two, all of their voices seemed to blend together. Finally, she heard something she understood.

"Have respiratory standing by, get him prepped, stat!"*

Riley watched as they took Lucas down the hallway towards the operating room. She remained there until her parents came up behind her and led her over to a chair beside Lucas' parents. Once seated, Lucas' mother gave Riley a comforting hug, which she gladly returned. If this was heart wrenching for her, Riley couldn't imagine what his parents were going through right now. One of their worst nightmares.

She shifted her body, trying to get into a comfortable position in the slippery plastic chair. Riley finally leaned over and rested her shoulder on her dad's shoulder. Cory took ahold of her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He wished there was more he could do. _No one should have to go through this,_ Cory thought. _Not parents, not friends, not significant others._

Each minute seemed to take an eternity to pass. Riley felt as if she was going to go crazy if she didn't hear anything soon, but when she looked up at the clock, she realized it had only been 15 minutes since they took him back. She let out a frustrated sigh and closed her eyes, trying to prevent more tears from spilling over. _It's all my fault_, Riley thought to herself. _It's my fault that he's here. I should have stopped him! I should have stopped him…_

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><p>The next thing Riley remembered was feeling her dad's shoulder jerk up slightly, waking her up. One of the doctors that performed the surgery was standing in front of them. The group stood up and Riley held her breath.<p>

"Well?" Mr. Friar asked.

The doctor scratched the back of his neck. "He was very lucky. The bullet lodged between the inner skull and the back of the brain. We were able to remove it and there's no apparent tissue loss. If he comes out of it, it's possible he'll suffer little to no brain damage."*

"If he comes out?"* Riley asked, suddenly not liking where this conversation was going.

"There was a lot of bleeding, and severe swelling causing intracranial pressure…he's slipped into a coma. It's not uncommon for this kind of trauma. People have pulled out, it's just hard to predict. We've administered an anti-convulsive therapy, but there's always the possibility of multiple complications after brain surgery."*

Everyone felt a bit better with the doctor's news. Everyone, but Riley. All the 'what ifs' started to float around in her head. _What if he doesn't wake up? What if they're wrong? It's all my fault…_

Topanga put her arm around Riley's shoulder once again. "Come on, sweetie. Let's take you home."

Riley nodded in response, but she didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay and be with Lucas so she could be there when he woke up, despite knowing he probably wouldn't wake up any time soon.

Cory placed his arm around Riley's other shoulder and the two parents led her out to the car. As they drove home, raindrops began to pelt the car's windows. Riley looked out of one of the windows and looked up towards the clouds. _Please, let him be okay._

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><p>"Riley, go sit down and relax, I'll make you some hot cocoa," Mrs. Matthews said as the family walked through their apartment door. Riley nodded as she walked over to the couch and plopped herself down on it.<p>

"Wanna watch something?" Cory asked softly.

Riley shrugged. "Sure."

Cory walked over to the TV and turned it on while he rummaged through the pile of DVDs in the bin below it. Not finding what he knew his daughter would enjoy, especially after this whole ordeal, he walked over to one of the closets in the hallway to continue his search.

Riley looked up at the screen, and wasn't happy about what she saw.

"_In our breaking news coverage this evening: an attempted robbery in a local bookstore left one man killed and another in critical condition. Only one person was able to walk away with minor injuries after she was somehow able to disarm and incapacitate the shooter. She has declined to release any information at this time about—"_

Riley grabbed the remote from the coffee table, shut the TV off, and threw the remote down on the hardwood floor, nearly cracking its plastic coating. Both Cory and Topanga shifted their attention to their daughter as she brought her knees to her chest and tried to keep the tears from flowing once again.

"Riley…what's wrong?" Topanga asked as she sat down beside her.

"It's all my fault. All of this happened because of me!" she sobbed.

Cory walked around and sat on the other side of her. "No, sweetie. It's not your fault, you didn't cause this. You didn't know what was going to happen."

"It is too my fault!" she screamed as she jumped up from the couch. "I could have stopped him! I should have said something before he went to try and find the guy. Now he may not survive because of me!"

"Honey, you couldn't have stopped him."

"Yes I could have!" she yelled as she dashed off into her room and slammed the door shut.

Cory and Topanga looked at each other. They both knew that Riley couldn't have done anything to stop Lucas. Sure, they didn't know exactly what happened, but Lucas would do anything to protect Riley. Why couldn't she see that?

"Survivor's guilt?" Cory asked.

Topanga nodded. "I think it's going to be a while before she realizes that it wasn't her fault. Maybe Maya can help her get through this."

"I hope so."

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><p>Riley lay on her bed and clutched Lucas' jacket in her hands as more tears flowed down her cheeks. Every moment or so, she would smell the jacket's material, longing for some comfort in smelling his scent. She wrapped the jacket around her and closed her eyes. <em>I'm so sorry, Lucas. Please forgive me. Please make it. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you.<em>

_*** Lines used from J.A.G's episode 'Hemlock'. They're pretty much verbatim, but I did combine a few lines (because you're not going to have military officers interrupting the doctors here) and changed 'she' to 'he'.**_

_**A/N#2: Hope you enjoyed it! Lucas' parents didn't have a large roll because, like in 'Don't Let Go', I don't know much about their character yet. If you could leave a review before you head out that would be great :) Until next time!**_


	3. Attempted Comfort

_**A/N: Hello lovelies! Thanks to you guys, this story has over 1,000 views! Woot! Thank you all for the reviews, it really encourages me to try and find time to write for you guys. So, here's the next chapter for ya!**_

_**Disclaimer: I can't afford a car; do you think I could own Girl Meets World?**_

Riley's eyes fluttered open as the morning sun's rays crept higher into her room. It took her a moment to realize where she was, and to recall the events of the previous night. When it hit her, she wanted to burst into tears again. But somehow, she didn't…something else caught Riley's attention. She looked at the wall facing her and raised an eyebrow. Something was off.

_There's too much sunlight in here._

Riley glanced up at her alarm clock to check what time it was, but a note was blocking the digital readout. She picked up the piece of paper and read it.

_Hey Riley, Mom and I figured that you could use a day off to try and recover. See you later tonight. ~Dad._

After reading it, she looked up at her clock. The numbers flashed 11:00 am. She didn't realize she slept so late. Riley never even slept that late on weekends.

"'Bout time you woke up," a voice said from behind.

Riley turned her head towards the voice and saw both Maya and Farkle sitting in the bay window.

"What are you guys doing here?"

Maya stood up and sat next to her best friend. "Your dad called us earlier, and gave us more details on what happened." She placed a hand on Riley's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Some tears fell from Riley's eyes as she fell into Maya's arms, burying her face into her best friend's shoulder. "It's my fault, it's all my fault," Riley mumbled.

Farkle came over and sat on the other side of Riley, placing a hand on her back. "How could this be your fault?"

"I should have stopped him. It's my fault he's in critical condition."

Maya placed both hands on Riley's shoulders and looked her in the eye. "It's not your fault, okay? How do you think you could have stopped him? You know what he's like. Lucas is going to do whatever he can to protect you, even if it means sacrificing himself. Do you really think he would have listened if you tried to make him stay?"

Riley thought about it. _Would he have listened?_ Since they were together, Lucas did whatever he could to care for her and to protect her. He would do _anything_ for her. _What _if _he stayed? Would we both be in the ICU? Or looking over our friends from Above?_

She gulped as she realized what could have occurred if things went differently. "No…probably not. He would have gone anyway."

Maya smiled. "See? You can't blame yourself over this. It's not your fault."

"If it's not my fault, then why do I still feel so rotten about it all?"

Farkle took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Because someone you care deeply about has been seriously injured. And there's nothing you can do but wait and see what happens."

Riley rung her hands. "I just want him to be okay."

"He will," Farkle replied confidentially.

"How do you know?"

"Because he has a good reason to fight."

A small smile came over Riley's lips and she blushed slightly.

"Now come on," Maya said. "Let's go get you something to eat."

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><p>Riley sat down in the living room and was watching some TV while Maya and Farkle were in the kitchen making Riley some brunch. They refused to let her do anything but sit down and relax. However, Riley didn't feel the same way. After several minutes of arguing, Riley finally lost and did as her friends ordered her.<p>

Maya started to gather some ingredients to make some eggs the way Riley liked them, while Farkle tried to find something that would be a side. After rummaging around the kitchen cupboards and the refrigerator, he finally decided to cut up some fruit. He took the container of whole strawberries out, along with the fresh pineapple, and placed the fruit by his cutting board. When he walked behind Maya, Farkle couldn't help but poke her in the ribs.

"Ack! Farkle!"

Farkle gave her a pleased smile. "What?"

Maya shook her head, but couldn't help but smile. "You know what. I _will_ get you back!"

"You think that."

"Oh, it's on."

"Do I have to come in there and separate the two of you?" Riley laughed.

Maya shook her head. "Don't you dare. You're supposed to stay there and relax."

"Okay."

Farkle turned to Maya and muttered, "She seems to be doing better."

Maya nodded. "Yeah. It's okay for her to worry, but I hope she doesn't start blaming herself again once we leave."

"Why would she do that?"

"Because it's easy to say 'I'm fine' and think so for a while until you realize it was just a mask the entire time."

Farkle raised an eyebrow. "Know from experience, do you?"

Maya paused for a second as she transferred the eggs to a plate. "Yeah."

The two finished plating the food and moved it over to the table. "Okay, Riles. You can come over here now."

Riley stood up from the couch and went over to where her friends set up her meal. "Thank you, guys…for being here. It's really helped."

Maya smiled. "We'd never not be there for you."

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><p>Farkle and Maya sat in one of the living room chairs as they finished watching the movie they had put on earlier for Riley. About ten minutes into the film, Riley had fallen into a peaceful sleep on the couch. Both knew that it was something she needed, so they didn't bother waking her (even though it was her favorite movie).<p>

Once again, Farkle poked Maya in the ribs, startling her a bit. This earned Farkle a playful slap on the shoulder. "I told you I'd get you back…and you're lucky Riley's asleep, otherwise I'd declare a full out war."

Before Farkle could respond, the apartment door opened and Topanga stepped inside, smiling at the pair. "Hey guys, how is she doing?"

"Better, but not one hundred percent yet" Maya whispered, gesturing towards the teen sleeping on the couch.

Topanga set her bag down beside the end table and looked at her daughter. She had some more color in her face than the previous night, which was a good sign. "Thanks you two."

Maya nodded. "No problem, Mrs. Matthews. It's what we're here for."

_**A/N #2: So Riley's doing better…or is she? We shall find out in the next chapter. Got some Maya/ Farkle in there for you! Next chapter, back to school! Again, no guarantees on when that will be posted. It's going to be nose to the grindstone for me this week thanks to a huge project. If you could leave a review on your way out that would be great :) Until next time!**_


	4. Defensive Action

_**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! Here's the next chapter for you guys!**_

_**Disclaimer: Don't own it**_

Riley walked into her father's classroom with Maya and Farkle, set her books down on her desk, and sat down. Even though she was gone for a day, Riley was eager to get back to school. Despite her eagerness, it felt strange to be there without Lucas.

The bell rang, and Mr. Matthews stood up from his desk. His mouth moved as he spoke to the class, beginning his lesson, but Riley didn't hear a word of it. She tried her best to focus on her dad's lesson, but her mind was somewhere else.

Despite Maya and Farkle offering valid points on why it wasn't her fault, she had a hard time convincing herself that it was true. Riley knew that Lucas wouldn't have listened and would have done anything to make sure that she was safe, but there was still a small voice in the back of her mind that told her otherwise.

_You could have done something, said something, so he wouldn't have been hurt._

The battle in her mind continued as the class seemed to drag on. Once again, Riley tried to focus on the lesson, but the argument took over her focus.

Mr. Matthews began to split the class into pairs for a partner work activity, but when he called Riley's name, she didn't respond. He walked up in front of her and placed his hands on the edge of her desk. Riley came out of her sea of thoughts and looked up at her father.

"You okay?"

Riley sighed and shrugged, but she knew she wasn't okay.

"Riley, you'll be partners with Maya," he continued and began to hand out the worksheets to class. "If you are not able to complete this during class, it will be due next time."

Everyone set to work on the sheet. Luckily for Riley, it was a worksheet on the information in the textbook instead of what her father just lectured on, so the two friends began skimming the text for the answers.

"Are you okay?" Maya said after a few minutes.

Riley shrugged again. "I don't know…I know that you said it wasn't my fault, but I still feel like I should have been able to do or say _something_."

"Riley, this is just one thing that you can't fix," Maya said gently. "You can't go back in time and changed what happened. And I'm sure Lucas doesn't blame you; it was his own decision. He'll tell you that when he wakes up."

_But what if he doesn't?_ Riley thought.

The bell finally rang and Riley stood up along with the rest of her classmates and headed out into the hallway, but someone's familiar voice made her freeze in her tracks before she could reach the door.

"Well, well, well. Look who decided to make herself known."

Riley's blood ran cold. "Missy," she replied, trying to get out of the classroom before she said anything more. But it didn't matter. Even though Riley made her way out, Missy followed her to her locker.

"So, how does it feel to know that you're the reason Lucas is in the hospital?"

Riley closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "It wasn't my fault, Missy. He would have done the same thing even if I tried to stop him," she replied. Despite her confident answer, she still wasn't fully convinced that it wasn't her fault.

"I highly doubt that. In fact, if that was me he was with, none of this would have happened."

"You weren't there. You have no idea what happened."

Missy gave Riley a look. "Besides you were hiding behind a bookcase in fear after Lucas went out?"

"That's not what happened! Lucas told me to stay there! He was protecting me!"

Missy clicked her tongue. "Sure, you believe that sweetie. Just accept that the reason that he may die was because of you, and if anyone else was in your place, namely me, that we both would have been fine. I wouldn't have let Lucas go out to die…I would have had his back, and he would be standing here with us today."

A few tears slid from Riley's eyes and down her cheeks. _Stop, just stop. Leave me alone. I know it's my fault, leave me be!_

"Hey!" another voice yelled. Missy turned around to see it was Maya, her face reddened with anger.

"What do you want, Hart?" Missy groaned.

Maya stomped forward towards her. "What do you think you're doing?"

Missy smiled. "Telling Riley what she needs to hear…the truth. Unlike some people that comfort her with lies."

Maya lost it. She tightened her fist and drove it across the smug teen's face. Missy's head snapped back against the lockers and she slumped to the ground. "How could you do something like that? You don't even know what Riley's been through these past couple of days! You weren't there! You may think you know, but everyone knows that the media twists almost everything to make it into a pathetic sob story. If you ever do anything like that again to any of my friends, I'll introduce you to my second best friend. And believe me…it's not pretty."

"Maya."

Maya slowly turned her head and made eye contact with Mr. Matthews who was standing in his classroom doorway. "May I speak to you?"

She nodded and walked into the classroom.

"Miss Bradford, don't go anywhere. I want to speak to you next." He walked up to Riley and placed one of his hands on her shoulders. "If you want you can stay here for now. Don't worry about any other classes, they'll understand."

Riley nodded and slumped down to the ground while Cory went back into his classroom and shut the door behind him. He found Maya slouched in her chair, looking into dead space. Mr. Matthews walked up in front of her and sat down on the edge of his desk. Maya came back to the present and looked up at her teacher, but remained silent. "You want to tell me what happened?"

Maya looked down at her hands. "Missy was telling Riley that the reason why Lucas is now in the hospital was because of her, and kept trying to drive that into her head. She said that it was the truth, when I knew it wasn't. Even if Riley tried to stop him, Lucas wouldn't have listened. He loves Riley too much to let anything happen to her. So, I shut her up the only way I could think of. I admit it wasn't the brightest thing to do at the time, but she hurts Riley, she is going to find pain too."

Mr. Matthews crossed his arms. "I appreciate you trying to stand up for Riley, especially after you and Farkle made some progress yesterday. But you can't go around hitting people."

"I know."

"I appreciate your motives, but you know I am going to have to punish you."

Maya nodded.

Cory thought for a moment before responding. "Lunch detention…today only."

Maya raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't it be detention for a week?"

"Yes, but right now Riley is going to need all the time and support from her best friend. And you can't do that if you're in detention now, can you?"

Maya shook her head. "No…but what if Missy got to her? What if I can't change that?"

Cory sighed. "Then Lucas will have to tell her. You may go."

Maya stood up from her chair and walked out into the hallway. A few seconds later, Missy appeared in the classroom, her face already swelling from the punch she took.

"Have a seat," Mr. Matthews said, gesturing to the desk right in front of him.

"I don't know why you're keeping me here," Missy replied as she sat down. "I didn't do anything to provoke Maya. I didn't do anything wrong."

Cory pushed down the wave of anger that threatened to spill out. "Missy, I heard everything you said to my daughter."

Missy's eyes widened. She had never been caught before.

"What did you think you were doing? You're lucky Maya _only _punched you in the face." Mr. Matthews paused before continuing. "You'll have detention for a week," he finished, turning to the other side of his desk to continue grading the papers he started.

"What? Detention for a week? Mr. Matthews you must be—"

Cory looked up at the teen. "I'm sorry, Miss Bradford. Would you like two instead?"

Missy swallowed and shook her head.

"Good, you may go."

Missy stood up and took off out of the room.

Before going back to his grading, Mr. Matthews walked to his doorway and peeked around the corner. He found Riley crying into Maya's shoulder, and Maya doing her best to comfort her friend.

"It's my fault…it's my fault. I knew it was."

Maya shook her head. "No, it wasn't. Don't let Missy get to you."

The two were silent for a few more moments before Cory asked, "You two wanna come inside? You can go home after lunch."

Both teens nodded, but Riley asked, "Why after lunch?"

"I've been sentenced to 'hooked on Matthews' during the lunch hour for hitting Missy. But if you're in there, I don't think I'll mind it."

Riley smiled slightly as she and Maya stood up and walked back into the classroom for the remainder of their day.

_**A/N #2: Just for clarification, Missy knew because when the media got the police's report, they twisted it around to make it more dramatic. Anyone catch the Boy Meets World reference? Had to change it slightly since Cory's the teacher. Maya in this chapter is heavily based on my best friend, including some of her dialogue. The next chapter will have some Lucas in it. Until next time :)**_


	5. Faith

_**A/N: Alright lovelies, in this chapter you'll find the original inspiration of this fic. A song called 'If I Didn't Have You' by Thompson Square. The song is not mine by any means! I highly recommend the song to anyone who is reading. Also, another slight J.A.G. reference is in here. I know this chapter's a bit shorter than the rest, but nothing else could be added that would be relevant.**_

_**Also, updates are probably going to slow down a bit. I have two unit tests coming this upcoming week and I really need to focus on those, even though I'd rather write for you guys.**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Girl Meets World, J.A.G., or the lyrics of 'If I Didn't Have You'**_

One week.

It had been one week since the shooting, and Riley's routine didn't vary during that time. She'd wake up, go to school, come home, drop off her books, and visit Lucas as soon as she could.

One week.

One week, and Riley didn't notice any difference as she gazed at Lucas' still body lying on the hospital bed. The doctors said he seemed to be improving, but how they could tell Riley could never figure out. Maybe it was from all the equipment Lucas was hooked up to. However, he looked the same to her. Pale and unusually still.

When her dad was driving her over, he had the car radio playing. Usually, Riley didn't pay any attention to what her father listened to. She never cared for the kind of music he would listen to. But the words of the song that came over the speakers caught her attention, and the meaning of the song hit her rather hard.

_Sometimes it feels like, I'm gonna break _

_Sometimes this world, gives more than I can take _

_Sometimes, sunshine gets lost in the rain _

_And it keeps pouring down _

_It just keeps coming down _

_This life would kill me If I didn't have you _

_I couldn't live without you baby _

_I wouldn't want to _

_If you didn't love me so much _

_I'd never make it through _

_'Cause this life would kill me _

_This life would kill me if I didn't have you_

_You are my heart, every breath I breathe _

_I'm safe in your arms, you rescue me _

_When I'm weak, you're strong _

_If you were gone I don't know where I'd be _

_You were made for me_

_(You were made for me) _

_This life would kill me If I didn't have you _

_I couldn't live without you baby _

_I wouldn't want to _

_If you didn't love me so much _

_I'd never make it through _

_'Cause this life would kill me _

_This life would kill me if I didn't have you _

_If you didn't love me so much _

_(If you didn't love me so much) _

_This life would kill me If I didn't have you_

_(This life would kill me)_

_Couldn't live without you baby _

_I wouldn't want to _

_If you didn't love me so much _

_I'd never make it through _

_'Cause this life would kill me _

_This life would kill me if I didn't have you*_

A single tear slid down Riley's cheek as she thought of those lyrics again. They fit her situation so perfectly it hurt. Honestly, she didn't know what she'd do if she lost him. Riley glanced over at Lucas and watched his chest rise and fall with the aid of the breathing tubes fitted to him. She wanted him to wake up; she needed him to be okay.

Suddenly, Lucas' body began to shake. Riley's face grew more worried as the shaking became more violent as each second passed. "Someone help!" she screamed as she dashed out of the room to find anyone that would be able to help.

Two nurses just outside the door heard her pleas and jogged into the room. "I could use some help in here!"** one of them shouted as more medical staff piled into the room.

Riley slumped to the floor and gathered her knees in her arms as more tears spilled from her eyes. _This can't be happening! Please no! No, no, no! Please just let him be okay…I can't do this anymore!_

It felt like an eternity for Riley before she noticed someone's shadow in front of her. She looked up and saw one of the doctors that had been in the room with Lucas. "Is…is he okay?" Riley managed to ask.

The doctor smiled and took ahold of Riley's hand. "Yes, he's going to be fine. What you saw in there was a convulsion. Despite the treatment we're giving him they can still occur. But don't worry; I don't expect he'll have any more."

"Can I see him?"

"It would probably best if you waited until tomorrow. We're going to keep a closer eye on him for the next twenty four hours, just in case. Just because I say he probably won't have any more, doesn't mean it couldn't happen."

Riley nodded and stood up. "Thanks."

The doctor smiled again. "Don't mention it," he replied and went on his way.

* * *

><p>Riley walked into her family's apartment and fell onto the couch, not eager to do anything else for the rest of the day. Topanga watched her daughter as she finished setting the table for dinner. Once the last napkin was in place, Topanga walked over and sat down next to Riley and began to brush the long dark brown hair out of her daughter's face.<p>

"How's Lucas doing?"

"The doctors say he's doing better…but how they know that I have no clue. But he went into convulsions while I was there. Thankfully he's still okay."

"Are you okay?"

Riley let out her breath as she pushed herself up to face her mom. She was getting tired of people asking how she was doing almost every day, but considering how she'd taken this whole situation, she couldn't blame them. Everyone was really concerned for her, and they all wanted to make her feel better. "I don't know…I'm just so afraid that I'm going to lose him despite what the doctors are saying. They're not always right, anything could happen," Riley finished, remembering what one of the doctors said before he left.

Topanga wrapped her arms around her daughter, brought Riley closer to her, and placed a kiss on top of her head. "Don't worry, honey. He'll be alright. Lucas will pull through," she said confidently.

"How do you know?" Riley whispered, doubting her mother's words.

"Let me put it this way…have I ever filled you with false hope?"

Riley shook her head.

"Then have faith."

_***lyrics of 'If I Didn't Have You' by Thompson Square**_

_****Line from J.A.G.'s season 1 episode 'Hemlock'**_

_**A/N #2: Okay, who hates me? Probably not what you though for Lucas being in here, but don't worry! The next two chapters are what I'm sure all of you have been waiting for, so stay tuned! If you could leave a review on your way out that would be great :) Until next time!**_


	6. The Sound of Her Voice

_**A/N: Okay, so this chapter may be a bit confusing. There is a LOT of symbolism and parallels from the previous chapters in this one. All of what happens here is what Lucas sees after the events in chapter 1. I hope you enjoy it!**_

_**Disclaimer: Never owned it. Never have, never will**_

_*BANG*_

_Lucas blinked a few times as he looked at his surroundings. He wasn't quite sure where he was, but that didn't matter. The scenery here was beautiful. He found himself standing in the middle of a field of tall grass, with swaying trees as the breeze blew surrounding it several hundred yards away on each side. The loud noise he heard when he entered this world, whatever it was, seemed as if it was close by, but he couldn't find anything that would cause such a noise. _

_After what seemed to be a few moments, a few water droplets began to fall from the clouded sky above. Soon, a steady rain began to fall, soaking through Lucas' shirt. Lucas found himself smiling. It wasn't a cold rain like he had expected; it was a warm summer rain, like the ones he enjoyed walking in with Riley. How he wished she was there with him to enjoy this place._

_A soft whinny came from behind him. Lucas turned around, rubbing the back of his neck in confusion, and he saw where the noise came from. Joy, his palomino, was standing a few paces away. A huge smile came over Lucas' lips as he walked over towards his horse. He placed a hand on the horse's withers and felt its soft coat underneath his fingertips. Lucas seemed to float as he brought himself up on Joy's back. He closed his eyes and smiled. It had been a great long while since he was sitting atop of a horse bareback. _Far too long, _Lucas thought to himself._

_He clicked his tongue and squeezed his legs into the horse's side and they headed off further into the field. The ride felt strange to him. Joy's gait was far too smooth. To him, it felt more like a Tennessee Walker's gait than Joy's, but even then…this gait was far smoother than a Walker's would be. Right now that didn't matter to him. All that mattered was riding on horseback once again._

_Another soft sound reached Lucas' ears, but it was too soft for him to determine what it was, as if it was quite a ways away. He pressed his heels into Joy's side, urging her to quicken the pace. Despite covering more ground, they didn't seem to be getting closer to the sound. Lucas brought Joy to a stop and listened closely, rubbing the back of his neck while waiting for the sound to reach his ears again. When it did come, he realized it was several sounds merged together, much of which he couldn't determine. But when he focused on a different part of it, he raised an eyebrow. It was the sound of a young lady crying. He knew that cry._

"_Riley?"_

* * *

><p><em>Lucas wrapped his jacket tighter around him, trying to control the shivering that came when the colder rain came pouring down on him. The rain matted down his hair, and poured off his face in small streams. He dropped down to the ground and curled himself into a ball, trying to use his core body heat to keep himself warm, but it didn't seem work. The shivering continued to get worse. Lucas knew that he should try and shelter himself somehow from this rain, but no matter how hard he tried to reach the trees surrounding the field, the ceased to come any closer. It was as if he was running in place, or the trees moved away as he moved tried to get closer to them. Lightning cracked across the sky, followed by a rolling thunder clap that sounded rather weak, as if it was trying to call for help because it wasn't strong enough. More thunder echoed off the trees, but Lucas didn't notice any more lightning, which he found rather odd. Sure it was possible, but the storm appeared to be directly over him. After a few minutes, the rain gradually lightened up, and for the first time since he appeared here, the sun peaked through the clouds, sending great needed warmth through Lucas' body.<em>

_He looked around him. The grass was suddenly dry, and the storm clouds had disappeared. It appeared as if the storm never came through. Lucas stretched out and lay back in the grass, clasping his hands and placing them behind his head. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The air here was sweet and pleasant, like the smell of fresh cut hay, and the sweetness of it lulled him to sleep._

_Lucas didn't know how long he had been sleeping, but the sound of someone's soft crying woke him. He propped himself up and looked around. A few dozen yards away stood Riley, wiping away the tears that were slowly falling down her face. Lucas stood up and walked over towards her. Riley made eye contact with him, and instead of smiling like he thought she would, the tears continued to fall._

_He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Riley? Are you okay? What's wrong?" he asked as he began to wipe away the tears covering her cheeks._

"_Please wake up…"she whispered._

_Lucas took a step back and raised an eyebrow. She was talking to him as if he couldn't hear her. "What?"_

_Riley wiped her face again. "Please wake up…I can't do this anymore."_

_He rubbed the back of his neck and thought out loud. "Wake up? What is she talking about? I'm right—"_

_Everything that happened before he entered this world rushed back into his mind. The bookstore, the shooter, him going out to see what happened and to protect Riley from whatever was there…_

_Lucas' eyes grew wide as he remembered what happened next._

…_him turning around, another loud noise, and him falling to the ground._

"_Riley what are you saying? Where am I?"_

_Riley inhaled deeply and tried to keep her voice steady. "This life would kill me if I didn't have you," she replied as she covered her face with her hands._

Lucas' eyes fluttered open.

_**A/N #2: Bit of a cliffhanger there for you ;) If anyone has any questions on the symbolism and parallels, feel free to ask! I know it may be a bit confusing. Also if you could leave a review on your way out that would be great! Now that I'm going to have one test out of the way, I'm hoping that I'll have some more time to write, but I still can't make any promises thanks to the crazy life of college. Until next time :)**_


	7. Relief

_**A/N: *drumroll* And now for what you've all been waiting for :) Hope you enjoy it!**_

_**Disclaimer: Don't think I'd be in college if I owned it…**_

Riley smiled as she felt a comfortable warmth wrapped around her as she awoke. It felt like she was waking up in Lucas' arms after falling asleep watching a movie with him. But when she opened her eyes, she found great disappointment when she realized she was in bed with her sheets tightly wrapped around her body. Riley looked up at her clock and sighed when she saw it was only a little past eight in the morning. Slowly, Riley untangled herself from her sheets and walked to the other side of the room, looking at her reflection. She picked up her brush from the top of her dresser and began to untangle her hair. As she brushed her hair, her mother's words from the previous day rang through her head.

_Have faith._

After her hair was tangle free, Riley changed out of her pajamas and into a basic t-shirt and some jeans. Before heading out to the dining room, Riley looked at herself in the mirror once again. She looked different. Happier…as if her heart knew something that her brain had yet to discover. _I wonder what it is. _When she headed out of her room, Riley found both of her parents already in the kitchen. Topanga was busy fixing breakfast, and Cory was sitting at his spot at the table grading papers. When Riley sat down, Cory looked up at her and smiled.

"Sleep well?"

Riley nodded. "Yeah…first time in a while, which is kind of a nice change of pace."

Topanga turned around from the stove and set a plateful of blueberry pancakes in front of Riley. "You look as if you're doing better than when you came home last night."

"Yeah, I don't know what it is…it's like my heart knows something, but I can't figure out what it could be."

Topanga smiled. "Sometimes the heart just knows something is going to happen."

"Has that ever happened to you?"

Cory and Topanga looked at each other and smiled. "Several times, in fact."

Riley began to eat her breakfast and thought about the feeling. She really wanted to believe that the feeling had to deal with Lucas, but she didn't want to get her hopes up. If she was wrong, she didn't want to have to deal with more pain. _But what else could it be?_

She finished her breakfast, placed her dishes in the sink, and grabbed her jacket. "Headed to the hospital. I'll be back in a while," Riley said over her shoulder as she headed out of the apartment.

* * *

><p>Riley entered the hospital room, pulled the lone chair closer to the bed, and sat down. Her heart began to race as she looked at Lucas' unconscious form. As she looked at him, she thought that he was finally starting to look better, but that could be because the doctors removed his breathing tubes earlier that day. It made her a bit happier to know that he was now breathing on his own.<p>

For a while, Riley just sat and watched what little movements Lucas was making, which was just the subtle rising and falling of his chest every few seconds. This movement, despite not being much, gave Riley some comfort. As the seconds turned into minutes, she wished that he would open his eyes.

In her heart, Riley knew that she needed him. She needed to be with him, and not like this.

Riley scooted the chair closer to Lucas and let out her breath. "Please wake up…" she whispered. Like before, the only movement was caused by his breathing.

"Please wake up," she repeated. "I can't do this anymore." Tears began to fill her eyes and they made their way down her cheeks, one by one. Riley tried to wipe them away, but they continued to fall. She waited a few moments, and though she saw a slight movement in Lucas' arm, but it didn't happen again. _Wishful thinking...it was probably just the shadows._

"This life would kill me if I didn't have you," she said to him, trying to keep her voice steady, but failed. Riley covered her face and let the tears flow out.

Lucas' eyes fluttered open. He winced slightly, not being used to the brightness of the room, and glanced around the room, trying to figure out where he was. His eyes fell upon the young lady sitting beside his bed trying to contain her tears.

"Riley?" he whispered.

Riley froze. Part of her thought her wishful thinking was at it again, causing her to hear Lucas' voice, but the feeling she had in her heart earlier grew stronger, so she slowly raised her head to focus back on Lucas. This time, she found his blue eyes staring back at her. More tears fell down her face as she leaned in and wrapped her arms around Lucas' neck, but this time they were tears of happiness.

Lucas slowly wrapped his free hand around Riley, still not in full control of his motor movements thanks to him being out for so long, and began to lightly rub her back, happy to have her in his arms again. Riley began to mutter something, but he wasn't able to understand her.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…this is my fault you're here."

Lucas closed his eyes and sighed. _How could she blame herself? It was my decision._ "Look at me," he said.

Riley sat up and wiped her red puffy eyes as she looked at him. "I should have said something—"

"Now, you listen to what I have to say, okay?" Riley nodded. "Alright now…I don't want you blaming yourself over this. It wasn't your fault; what I did was my own decision. And I can tell you for certain, that even if you tried to say something to stop me, it wouldn't have worked. You know why?" Riley shook her head. Lucas took ahold of her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Because I would do _anything_ to make sure that you are safe. You understand that?"

Riley didn't know what it was, but hearing Lucas say those words made her heart feel so at ease. Maybe it was because everyone else wasn't quite sure on why it happened; maybe it was because the words were coming from him. She didn't know that, but there was one thing she did know. That voice telling her otherwise was gone.

"Yeah, I do."

Lucas smiled. "Good," he replied, and he sluggishly brought her hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on the back of her palm.

_**A/N #2: Yay! Lucas is awake! :D This story isn't over yet. I have at least another eight chapters planned, whether or not I take it farther depends on time and if I come up with anymore chapter ideas. So, if you could let me know what you thought of the chapter by leaving a comment below that would be great! Until next time!**_


	8. Visiting Hours

_**A/N: I felt as if this chapter was the elephant in the room. I didn't want to write it, but I needed to to be able to write the chapters I want to work on. Anyway, here it is! Hope you enjoy it**_

_**Disclaimer: Yeah I think we know this already…**_

Maya groaned as she heard an annoying buzz interrupt her peaceful sleep. She rolled over and placed her pillow over her head to try and block the sound. The buzzing didn't last much longer, so Maya repositioned herself into a more comfortable position and tried to fall back asleep. However, the buzzing sound returned shortly after she closed her eyes again. Maya threw her pillow onto the floor and glanced at her alarm clock. It was about half past nine, and Maya let out an irritated sigh.

_Whoever woke me up this early on the start of my three day weekend must have a death wish._

She picked up her phone, expecting it to be 'the ever rising early' Farkle wanting to see if they could hang out at some point that day. But when she looked at her phone, she saw that the text messages were from Riley. A nervous pit grew inside her stomach as she sat up. She knew Riley was going to visit Lucas as soon as she woke up, which would have been a while ago if Maya knew her best friend. She desperately hoped these messages wouldn't be the bearer of bad news. _But wouldn't she call if that was so?_ Despite this thought, the nervous feeling didn't dissipate.

With shaking hands, Maya opened the text messages.

_Riley: Maya wake up!_

_Riley: Lucas is awake! :) :)_

Maya let out an audible sigh of relief as she hopped out of bed and began to get changed. Once she looked somewhat decent, Maya headed out of the apartment and towards the hospital to see her friends.

Maya walked briskly down the wing where Lucas' room was located, and found Riley standing outside the door, grinning from ear to ear. "There a reason why you aren't in there right now?" Maya asked once she reached where her best friend was standing.

Riley nodded. "The doctor is checking Lucas over. He should be done within the next few minutes."

"You must be ecstatic right now."

"You have no idea!"

The two girls laughed as more hurried footsteps approached them. They looked up and saw Farkle practically running towards them. He tried to stop in front of them, but the smooth floor caused him to slide right by them. Once he stopped, Farkle turned back around and walked to where Maya and Riley were standing.

"How's he doing?" Farkle asked, anxious to hear any news on his best friend.

Riley sighed happily, "He's doing well."

"Do his parents know he's awake?"

She nodded. "I called them before I texted you guys. They'll be here later this afternoon."

Once Riley finished her sentence, the door opened and the doctor stepped outside of the room. "You can go back inside now, but only for a little while longer. Visiting hours are almost over."

The group thanked him and stepped inside to see a very conscious Lucas.

"Looks as if the soaring eagle is grounded for a bit," Maya teased.

Lucas rolled his eyes. No matter what the situation was, Maya couldn't help but crack a joke. "Nice to see you too, Maya," he deadpanned as his three friends came closer.

Riley sat back up on the edge of the bed and brought herself closer to Lucas. He smiled as his girlfriend cuddled up alongside of him, being careful as she did. Maya grinned as she saw this. This past week was definitely hard on Riley, and it made her happy that it was over.

"So are you going to be out of here soon?" Farkle asked.

Lucas nodded. "Tomorrow morning. They want to keep me overnight for observation."

"Understandable. You've been through a lot," Maya commented.

There was a soft knock on the door before it opened and a petite nurse stepped in. "Hey everyone, I'm sorry to say that visiting hours are over for now."

Riley, Farkle, and Maya nodded. Both Farkle and Maya said their goodbyes and headed out the door, while Riley stayed behind and gave Lucas a gentle hug and a small kiss on the cheek. "I'll be here when you get discharged tomorrow," she said while standing up.

Lucas smiled. "I look forward to it," he replied as he gazed into her eyes.

Riley returned the smile and headed out the door, eager for the next twenty four hours to pass. _Just twenty four more hours and things would be _mostly_ back to normal,_ she thought as she walked down the hallway, her smile growing wider by the second.

As she walked out of the hospital and down the sidewalk, Riley could hardly contain her excitement. She felt that she was going to float the rest of the way home. Some pedestrians gave her some strange looks as she walked by, but Riley didn't care. _Nothing_ could destroy the mood she was in.

Riley reached the apartment, skipped up the stairs, opened the door, and saw her mom and Auggie sitting on the couch watching a movie. Once she closed the door, both Topanga and Auggie looked up and saw the expression on her face. Topanga paused the movie and made her way over to her daughter.

"So I take it there's really good news."

Riley nodded, the smile growing larger on her face (if that was even possible, but it sure felt like it). "Lucas woke up when I was there. He's alright! He's going to be discharged tomorrow."

Topanga enveloped Riley in a hug. "I'm so happy for you," she said.

"Thanks, Mom."

Auggie hopped over to where Riley was and tapped her arm. Riley and Topanga released from their embrace, and Riley knelt down to be closer to her brother. "Yes?"

"I'm glad Lucas is okay. I don't like seeing my sister upset."

"Thanks, Auggie," she replied, and opened her arms to offer him a hug.

Auggie grimaced slightly, but finally accepted the hug. It wasn't a long one, he made sure of that, but it was a hug. After he found his way out of the embrace, Auggie took off to his room. Cory entered the living room not too long after Auggie left, and he saw the expressions on both Topanga's and Riley's faces.

"He's okay?"

Riley nodded.

Cory stepped over to his daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay now?"

Riley inhaled deeply, and for the first time since everything happened, she was able to say, "Yes, more than ever."

_**A/N #2: Managed to find a way to put Auggie in there. If you could leave a comment before you head out that would be great. The next chapter may take a little longer to post; I have another test tomorrow and some meetings for the next semester, but I shall do my best to squeeze in some writing time. Until next time!**_


	9. Home Again

_**A/N: Test, projects, and clubs oh my! It's been a busy few days! I tried to get this chapter up earlier, but this one was hard to write. Not hard as in I didn't know what to put into it, but hard as in revisiting old memories that made me wanna push off writing this chapter. But, I was able to pull through. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: The only thing I own is this plotline.**_

By the time Riley returned to the hospital the next morning, Lucas had already changed into the sweat pants and tee shirt his parents brought him. Currently, Mr. and Mrs. Friar were bringing their car closer to the exit, leaving Riley and Lucas alone together.

"Eager to get out of here?" Riley commented.

Lucas shot Riley a look saying, _Do you even have to ask that? _But still he responded, "Yeah, despite remembering being here for about a day, I already got sick of being here. Uncomfortable beds, no color, terrible food… take me anywhere else and I'll probably, no I _know _I'll enjoy it a lot more."

The same petite nurse who ushered Riley, Farkle, and Maya out the other day walked into the room pushing an empty wheelchair. "Mr. Friar, you're parents are outside waiting for you."

Lucas shifted his eyes from the wheelchair, to the nurse, back to the wheelchair, and back to the nurse. "Is that really necessary?" he asked, somehow hoping they would let him walk out on his own.

The nurse brushed her straight dark bangs out of her face and shook her head. "I'm afraid it is. Protocol."

Riley held her breath trying to suppress her laughter as she watched Lucas drag his feet towards the nurse and slowly sat down in the wheelchair. She knew he wanted to walk out of there without any aid more than anything, but he still wasn't one hundred percent when it came to his motor movements yet.

"I'm so lucky Maya's not here right now," Lucas said, thinking about the potential jokes that Maya could have made if he saw him like this, as he rested his head on his hand and the nurse began to push him out towards the front.

Riley let out a soft giggle at Lucas' comment and nodded in agreement. "Oh, probably knowing her."

Thankfully for Lucas, it didn't take them long to reach the Friar's car. Lucas got out of the wheelchair as quickly as he could, grateful he didn't have to ride in that thing anymore, and slowly climbed into the back of the car with Riley following close behind him. After a few more moments, Mr. and Mrs. Friar got into the front seats and headed towards their home.

* * *

><p>Riley helped Lucas into the apartment and led him over to the couch. Once there, Lucas shifted his weight and let himself fall onto the couch, letting out a sigh of relief once he felt the softness supporting his body. Riley slipped off her shoes and sat down next to him, curling her legs underneath her and bringing herself closer to Lucas. He wrapped his arms gently around her and inhaled her scent.<p>

"I missed that," he whispered, holding her tighter.

Riley chuckled. "How could you? It's only been twenty four hours since we last saw each other."

"It could be less than five minutes, and I'd still miss it."

Riley blushed slightly as she cuddled closer to him, happy to feel his warmth against her once again. She didn't realize how much she missed being like this in the time that passed. And now that they were like this once again, Riley couldn't see how she lived without it for that long.

After a while, Mr. and Mrs. Friar came back inside and went off into the apartment to do some sort of housework, leaving the two teens alone. Lucas and Riley just stayed where they were. Every once in a while, one of them would shift slightly to get into a comfortable position again, and would continue to enjoy the comfortable silence that grew between the two.

"So," Lucas said, deciding to break the silence. "Any plans for the rest of your three day weekend?"

Riley shrugged. "I figured I'd come back tomorrow, but other than that nothing," she finished, shifting her eyes to look up at his.

Lucas smiled. "Sounds good to me."

The two of them gazed into each other's eyes for a long while, and didn't care how much time had passed. Lucas leaned in closer, but before their lips could meet, a buzzing came from Riley's phone.

Both teens let out a frustrated sigh. Riley pulled her phone out of her pocket and read the text message that interrupted their moment. After she read it, Riley let out an annoyed groan.

"Good news?" Lucas asked sarcastically.

"It's my dad. He needs me to come home and babysit Auggie right now. Apparently he and mom need to go somewhere."

Lucas hugged Riley a bit tighter. He didn't want her to leave, but he knew that if he wanted to stay on Mr. Matthews' good side, Riley needed to leave.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Lucas nodded. "I'll be here," he replied, and placed a small kiss on her lips. Riley put her shoes back on and headed out the door. As she walked down the hall, she thought back to the time she and Lucas just shared. Even though it just ended, she couldn't wait for it to be the next day. Like Lucas said earlier, it wasn't even five minutes, and she already missed it.

It didn't take her long to reach her family's apartment. Once she opened the door, she saw her parents walking about the apartment, making sure that they had everything they needed. Cory looked up and saw Riley standing in the doorway.

"Hey Riley, sorry we had to call you home early."

"It's no problem. I was planning on heading back tomorrow."

Topanga smiled. "Alright. Everything should be set for you and Auggie. We'll see you in a few hours," she said, then placed a kiss on top of her daughter's head before she and Cory headed out the door.

Auggie walked into the room and stared at his older sister. Riley saw him enter and stared back at him. The stare off continued for a while until Auggie got bored.

"Apparently mommy and daddy don't think I'm capable of looking after myself," Auggie finally said, trying to let Riley know that he was not pleased about this situation at all.

Riley crossed her arms. "Do you remember the last time mom and dad left you here by yourself for an hour?"

Auggie shrugged. "But I'm ten years old, I can look after myself!"

Riley shook her head. She remembered when her parents thought it would be alright to let Auggie be by himself last year. It was amazing what that kid did in an hour to make Mr. and Mrs. Matthews realize that he wasn't ready to stay home by himself yet.

"Well, clearly mom and dad don't think so. So, anything you want to do?"

Auggie threw his hands up in the air. "I don't care!" he said as he turned around and left the room.

Riley shook her head again, sat down on the couch, and picked up her book that she left on the side table earlier that day. _The more things change, the more they stay the same,_ she thought as she began to read.

_**A/N #2: Hope you guys enjoyed it! Plenty of Riley/ Lucas coming in the next chapter, so stay tuned. If you could leave a review before you head out that would be great :) Until next time!**_


	10. Time Together

_**A/N: As promised, plenty of Riley/ Lucas. Enjoy**_

_**Disclaimer: Don't own it.**_

Riley inserted a DVD into the disc player, and then headed back to her spot on the couch next to Lucas. Once beside him, Lucas wrapped his arms around her and brought her closer to him. Riley curled her legs underneath her and laid her head down on Lucas' chest, letting out her breath as the movie started.

As the movie progressed, Riley found herself not paying attention to what was happening on the screen. Instead, she was listening to the sound of Lucas' heart beating. It was strong and carried a steady rhythm, one that brought great comfort to her. Every once in a while, it would seem as if their hearts beat together. And when this would happen, it seemed as if they were stronger.

It wasn't long into the movie when Lucas grabbed the remote and turned the volume down. Riley raised an eyebrow and looked up at him. "Are you okay?"

Lucas nodded. "Yeah. I was just wondering about something."

"Mind if I ask you what that is?"

Lucas paused and considered his words before he answered. "I was just wondering why you blamed yourself for what happened. It was my decision, so why should you blame yourself over it?"

Riley closed her eyes and slowly let out her breath. That question was one she couldn't find an answer to when everyone was trying to tell her that it _wasn't_ her fault. "I don't know," she started. "When I saw you…" Riley trailed a bit, trying to control her emotions while revisiting that memory. _It's okay, he's here now and he's fine._ "When I saw you lying on the ground motionless, I felt that if I said something, or did something, then you wouldn't have been like that… you would have been fine. I couldn't bear seeing you like that, and I don't know… even though I did everything I could, I still felt guilty that I couldn't do anything more.

"Maya and Farkle tried to help me see that, and if I tried to say anything to you about staying, you wouldn't have listened—"

"Which is what I told you," Lucas interrupted.

A small smile crept over Riley's lips. "I know, and I was somewhat starting to believe them. Then Missy stuck her nose into it and tore down everything Maya and Farkle built up."

"What did she say?"

"She pretty much tried to convince me that I was the reason you were in the hospital, and I was the reason you might have died… and it worked," Riley finished, her voice cracking as she did.

Lucas readjusted his arms around her and tightened the embrace, bringing Riley closer to him. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Riley shrugged. "It's not your fault. I shouldn't have let Missy get to me."

"Hey," Lucas said. "Don't go blaming yourself again. No matter what people say, words do hurt, even more so when your emotions are high strung," he finished, placing a kiss on top of Riley's head.

Riley placed a hand on one of his. "Thanks," she whispered.

Lucas smiled. "Anytime."

He turned the volume back up on the movie, and shifted his body slightly into a more comfortable position. Not long after he did, Riley shifted herself and closed her eyes, enjoying being with the one she loved.

The next time Lucas looked down at Riley, she had fallen asleep. She looked so beautiful like that, and Lucas didn't want to take his eyes off of her. After a few minutes, Lucas felt the tips of his fingers begin to go numb. As much as he didn't want his whole arm to be numb in a few more minutes, he didn't have the heart to wake Riley up or try to move her. She looked so comfortable where she was. So Lucas shifted his focus back to the film, and tried to ignore the tingling sensation climbing up his arm.

* * *

><p>The ending credits began to scroll on the TV screen when Riley began to stir. She opened her eyes and looked up at Lucas to find him looking down at her.<p>

"So much for us watching that movie together, huh?" Riley commented as she sat up.

Lucas smiled, "Doesn't matter, as long as we're here together. That's what's important," he replied as he flexed his arm to try and get the blood flow back.

"Are you okay?"

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, my arm fell asleep soon after you did. Just trying to get the feeling back."

"You could have woken me up, you know," Riley replied.

"I know. I didn't want to."

There was a bit of silence between the two before Riley announced, "I'm going to go get us something to eat."

Before Lucas could object, Riley got up from the couch and headed into the kitchen. Lucas slowly stood up and followed her a few seconds after she left. Once in there, he found Riley gathering the fixings for some sandwiches, and she placed them on the table.

He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You didn't have to do that," he said, resting his head on her shoulder. "I can help."

Riley sighed. "I know, but I wanted to. That and I don't want you working too hard."

Lucas suppressed a laugh. "I don't think making sandwiches qualifies as working too hard. Now would you let me help?"

"Fine," Riley replied. "Won't you let me do anything for you?" she half joked.

"You've already done more than you know," he said, beginning to put together a sandwich.

Riley raised an eyebrow. She had been helping him out for the past few days, but more than she knew? "How so?"

Lucas set down the sandwich he was working on and faced her. "When I was in the coma, I didn't realize where I was. What I saw was a nice place, but there was one thing it didn't have. You. On the day I woke up, you were there… but you were upset. You were saying things to me, but it was like I wasn't really there. After putting your words into perspective, I remembered what happened. Hearing your voice helped me wake up."

Riley stopped what she was doing and made eye contact with him. "You heard me?"

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, I guess I did."

A huge smile spread across Riley's lips as she stepped in and hugged Lucas. As he wrapped his arms around her, Riley felt a great warmth surround her heart. She wasn't the reason he was in the hospital; she was the reason he was with her in that moment.

_**A/N #2: Hope you enjoyed it! If you could leave a comment on your way out that would be great. I hope to update the next chapter sooner than I did with this one, but you never know what the future holds. Until next time!**_


	11. Returning to Normal

_**A/N: This is by far the most popular story I've written. Thank you all for making that happen! One of the background characters is going to be OOC (considering how other fics have built this person's character, including some of my fics). Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: Don't own it**_

Riley was woken by the sharp tones originating from her alarm clock. She rolled over towards her nightstand, shut off the annoying sound, and rolled onto her back. The sun's rays started to shine through her window, and she could hear some birds chirping off in the distance. Riley sat up in her bed and let out her breath. She could already tell it was going to be a good day from the way she was feeling.

She placed her feet on the floor, stood up, and began to get ready for the day. After taking a quick shower, Riley got dressed and placed everything she needed for the day into her bag. Riley took one last glance at herself in the mirror and headed out into the kitchen. Like every morning, she found her dad sitting at the head of the table, and her mom finishing preparing the family's breakfast.

Just before she sat down, the apartment's intercom buzzed.

"Hey, it's Maya…"

"…and Farkle…"

"…and Lucas."

Riley's smile grew as she headed towards the door. "Come on up," she replied, and then headed back to her seat.

As Mrs. Matthews was setting the family's breakfast on the table, Riley's three friends came walking through the door.

"Maya, breakfast," Mrs. Matthews ordered.

Maya simply nodded and took her place at the table, with Farkle close behind her. She gave up trying to argue with Mrs. Matthews several years ago, and the reason being was because she appreciated the fact that Mrs. Matthews loved her like she was her own daughter.

Lucas followed his friends to the table at a slower pace. Despite still not being fully recovered, Lucas was determined to go to school that day. He couldn't take sitting around his apartment and doing nothing any longer.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Friar?" Cory asked as Lucas sat down alongside his friends.

"Better, sir."

Cory smiled. "That's good to hear," he replied.

"So, hop along," Maya said to Lucas after taking a bite of her breakfast. "Think you'll be able to keep up today?"

Lucas narrowed his eyes towards his friend. "I'm definitely going to try," he commented. "There's no way I'm staying home and doing nothing again. I can't take it anymore. Besides, I've missed enough school work as it is."

Maya nodded as she finished her breakfast. She understood that sitting around for so long can drive anyone crazy. Maya felt the same way after being sick for a week. She never enjoyed school, but she was happy to be doing something besides lying on the couch once she returned. After a few more minutes, Riley and Maya finished their breakfast, and the four friends headed off to school.

Once they were there, Farkle took ahold of Maya's hand and started to pull her away from the group a bit.

"Maya and I are going to spend a bit of time together before class starts. See you around!" the lanky teen said as the two headed off.

"Alright, see ya!" Riley called out to them as she and Lucas continued on to their lockers.

When they walked towards Riley's locker, they were both surprised to see someone standing in front of her locker waiting for them. Riley was really surprised when she realized that it was Missy Bradford. _What is she doing there?_ Riley wondered.

As they got closer, Lucas noticed that there was a slight discoloration underneath Missy's left eye. _What happened while I was gone?_

Once they stood a few feet away from her, Missy looked up and saw the two standing in front of her. Thanks to her time in detention with Mr. Matthews, she had some time to think about what she said to Riley. It was probably the worst thing she had ever done to her. Sure, she teased Riley every now and then, but what she said that day was crossing the line. And now that Lucas was here standing alongside Riley, it made her feel even worse. Here he was, almost fully recovered, and she was trying to convince Riley that he might die because of her. _How could I be like that? How could I say such things?_

Missy straightened her posture a bit, and tried to maintain eye contact with Riley. "Riley," she began. Missy bit her lip as she collected her thoughts. "I wanted to apologize about what I said to you. It was uncalled for. I know this doesn't help, but I honestly have no clue why I said it. But I know now that I shouldn't have said it. You were going through a really rough time, and I didn't help any," she concluded. Her eyes started to become glossy as she finished her speech.

Lucas looked from Missy to Riley. Riley's expression didn't change; it was still a look that didn't reveal any emotion, as if she was never going to forgive Missy for what she said.

But what was really going through Riley's mind was the fact that Missy was actually apologizing for something she had done. She had never done something like this before. _I guess people really can change._

Missy broke eye contact with Riley and looked down at the floor. "I get it if you can't accept my apology. If I were you I wouldn't either…"

Riley shook her head. "Of course I'll forgive you."

Missy looked up. "Really?" she asked, somewhat shocked with Riley's answer.

"Yeah," Riley replied with a comforting smile.

A small smile came over Missy's lips as a tear fell down her cheek. "Thank you," she whispered, and then headed into the crowd.

After Missy was out of sight, Lucas raised an eyebrow. "You really forgive her?" he asked.

Riley nodded. "Yeah, there's no point in holding a grudge. What's done is done…I know the whole thing wasn't my fault, and she's truly sorry for her actions. What would be the point of staying angry at her?"

Lucas nodded. "Touché. I figured that much, I just wanted to make sure."

Riley smiled as she opened her locker. "Thanks."

He returned the smile. "I noticed that there looked to be a bruise under her eye. What happened to her? Did she get hurt?"

Riley bit her lip, not quite sure how to explain what had happened considering Lucas wasn't a fan of fights. "Uh, well… let's just say I wasn't the only one who heard her words and they didn't take to kindly to that."

"Let me guess, Maya heard her and was defending you?"

"Yeah."

Lucas shook his head. "Missy's lucky that's the only thing Maya did."

"You can say that again," Riley replied as she shut her locker.

_**A/N #2: The reason why I had Missy apologize is because people really can change once they step over that line. Something similar happened to me. A bully crossed that line, and ever since that her attitude towards me changed. She didn't apologize, but she respected me after a while. So I hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you could leave a review on the way out that would be great. Until next time!**_


	12. His Worst Nightmare

_**A/N: Here's the next chapter for you! It's a smidgen shorter than what I typically post, but I don't think you guys will mind :)**_

_**Disclaimer: I'm a poor college student, how could I afford to own Girl Meets World?**_

_As the snow fell over New York City, Riley and Lucas entered the little antique shop next to Svorski's and brushed the freshly fallen snow off of their jackets. It had started snowing a few minutes ago which added to the snow that had fallen earlier that week. It wasn't much, but it made the entire city look beautiful._

_Today was just another day of walking around the city for the young couple to do anything they wanted. Stopping in the antique shop was Riley's choice. She loved to look at the different nick knacks and trinkets that the shop would get in each week. Every once in a while, Riley would comment on how cute something was, or how she would like something similar someday. Once she did that, Lucas couldn't help but smile and shake his head slightly. He knew Riley was dropping hints on what she'd like for Christmas. What she didn't know was that Lucas already got her present, and he knew she'd love it._

_After a little while of glancing around the store, something caught Riley's eye. She picked it up gently and smiled as she looked over what she had in her hands. "Lucas, come over here and take a look at this!" Riley called out._

_Lucas walked over to where Riley was standing. Once he was in front of her, Riley turned to face him and held up something. "It's this beautiful?"_

_His eyes readjusted so he could focus on what was being shown to him. It was a light pink, frosted glass humming bird shaped as if it was taking nectar from a flower, and it was hanging from a golden colored wire base to help the illusion. Its beak, eyes, and chest was painted to match its stand. "That it is," Lucas agreed. "Why don't you buy it?"_

_Riley placed it back on the shelf and shook her head. "No, I wouldn't know where to put it in my room. That and my dad said I need to figure out which nick knacks I'm going to get rid of before I can get any more."_

"_You do have quite a few," Lucas commented._

_Riley rolled her eyes. "I know…but you know I used to have more! A lot more!" she defended. When she was younger, Riley used to have shelves full of nick knacks that she had gotten from her uncle, Eric, or ones that she purchased when they went on vacation. _

_Before Lucas could answer, a loud noise reverberated throughout the shop, and Riley's expression changed from one of fake annoyance to general surprise faster than the blink of an eye. At the same time, her hands shot up to her stomach and her face steadily grew paler._

"_Riley?" Lucas asked his voice filled with concern._

_She pulled her hands away from her stomach, her palms now stained red with blood. Lucas furrowed his brow and his jaw dropped as he saw the front of her shirt becoming redder by the second. Riley fell into his arms. Her body was now too weak to support her own weight._

_As Lucas lowered them both to the floor, he saw a hooded figure standing at the end of the aisle. In the figure's hand was a pistol that was still smoking from the shot that it fired._

"_What did you do?!" Lucas yelled as he shifted his gaze between the figure and Riley. He couldn't believe that this was happening. "Why would you do something like this?! She didn't do anything to you!"_

_The figure didn't answer him; it just stood where it was. Lucas wanted to attack the man for what he did, but once the thought entered his mind, the figure dissipated before his eyes._

_Lucas immediately shifted his focus back to Riley. She looked paler than the last time he looked at her a few seconds ago. Lucas felt as if his heart leapt into his throat as he tried to speak. "Riley…Riley, you got to stay with me," he said to her as tears filled his eyes._

_Riley made eye contact with him and tried to say something, but no words came out. Instead, her eyes closed and she let out her breath. As the seconds past, Lucas' tears fell onto Riley's lifeless face._

"No!" Lucas shouted as he shot up to a sitting position. He opened his eyes and looked around the room. To his relief, he found himself in his bedroom and not in any danger. For a moment, he wondered why he felt on edge, the dream escaping him. But the events of the nightmare soon reentered his mind. Lucas ran a hand through his hair. He could have sworn what he saw was real. Lucas felt Riley's limp body in his arms. Luckily, what he just saw was only a dream. Everything was okay; he was at home in his bed, and Riley was alright.

Lucas lay back down and took several deep breaths to try and calm his rapidly beating heart. _Everything is fine…everything is okay,_ he repeated in his mind. It took a few minutes before his pulse settled back into a more steady rhythm, and it took another few minutes for his mind to believe everything would be alright. Lucas rolled over and tried to fall back asleep, but he opened his eyes every few seconds and his heart began to race once again. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Riley's lifeless face stained with his tears. No matter what he did, every time his eyes closed, he reentered the nightmare from where he left off. Lucas rolled onto his back and sighed. _It's going to be a long night._

_**A/N #2: Plot twist! How will this dream affect Lucas? We shall find out in the remaining 3 chapters of the story. The next chapter will probably take a little longer to post. I have some snippets written in my notebook, so I have to write around those yet. Until next time!**_


	13. Cory's Concerns

_**A/N: Every time I say it might be a while, I manage to find some more time to write. Your reviews help me to find more time throughout my crazy schedule, so thank you for all who reviewed. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: Think we know this by now…**_

Lucas wrapped his sweater tightly around him and continued on his way towards the Matthews' apartment. The colder autumn air blew about the city, sending a chill down his spine. After a few more steps, Lucas was happy that he was now out of the harsh breeze as he pressed the intercom's button. "It's Lucas," he said. It took a few minutes for someone to answer, and like the past few days, Mrs. Matthews' voice replied.

"Come on up."

Lucas headed up the stairs and smiled. He started to come a bit earlier so he and Riley could spend some more time together. Lately, he was busy after school trying to catch up on all the work he had missed, thus the two didn't see each other as much as they wanted to. So, they tried to see each other whenever they could find time, earlier in the morning being one of them.

As he walked through the door, he saw Riley just sitting down at the table, along with Mr. Matthews sitting at his usual spot and Mrs. Matthews standing at the oven, checking on something that was inside.

Lucas sat next to Riley at the table, dropped his book bag next to the bench, and placed his arm around her. A small smile crept across her lips as she leaned in closer to him.

"Morning," Riley greeted as she looked up at him.

Lucas' eyes met her gaze and he grinned. Just seeing her made his day so much better. "Morning."

After a few moments, the sound of Mr. Matthews clearing his throat reached their ears. Both of them turned their heads to see him giving them a somewhat unapproving glance. Riley and Lucas separated a bit, and Riley let out an annoyed sigh.

"Daddy, you do realize that we've been together for around two years now. What's the big deal?"

Before Mr. Matthews could answer, something that sounded like a small explosion came from somewhere in the kitchen, causing Riley to release a startled scream. Lucas immediately shielded Riley from any potential danger, but instead of another explosion, everyone heard a low, annoyed groan come from Topanga.

Both teens looked up to see Mrs. Matthews standing in front of the open oven.

"So much for getting a head start on dinner," she muttered as she looked at the mess that now lay inside of the oven.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "What was it?"

"Baked potatoes," Mrs. Matthews responded. "I wasn't going to have time to make them when I got back from work, so I was trying to get them done now. And now instead of having dinner ready, I have an even larger mess to clean before I head off."

Lucas released Riley and cleared his throat. He felt so embarrassed over what he just did. _Freaking out over that? Get a grip, Lucas!_

Lucas' actions didn't go unnoticed by Mr. Matthews. Sure, he knew that Lucas would do anything to make sure Riley was safe, but what Lucas just did seemed to be a bit extreme.

Several silent minutes passed before the intercom buzzed, announcing Maya and Farkle's arrival. Riley stood up to let them in as Lucas looked down at his watch. It was a couple minutes after seven, which meant once the two came up they were going to head out immediately. Once Maya and Farkle appeared in the doorway, both Riley and Lucas grabbed their bags and headed off with their friends.

As the four friends left the apartment, Cory paid closer attention to Lucas' body language towards his daughter. He appeared to stay close by Riley… much more so than usual. It seemed like Lucas _needed _to be near her. Come to think of it, Cory realized that Lucas had done the same thing since he started coming over early. Realizing those actions and the one he witnessed earlier, he realized that it looked like Lucas was trying to protect Riley from something. What it was, however, he had no clue.

But he was going to find out.

As Cory walked into the school, he passed by Riley, Lucas, Maya, and Farkle. The four of them were hanging out by their lockers before classes started. When Cory passed by them, he looked at Lucas out of the corner of his eye. Again, Lucas was standing close by Riley as if he needed to protect her from any potential danger. Not even Farkle stood around Maya like that, and he was in love with her for several years! Seeing Lucas like that concerned him. _What happened to cause this?_

Cory walked into his classroom and began to prepare for the first class of the day. He took a couple stacks of papers out of his briefcase and placed them on his desk just as the warning bell rang. Each student in his class began to enter the classroom, including Riley and her friends.

Once everyone was seated, Mr. Matthews began to hand out the worksheets to the class. "I thought we'd change things up a bit for today. Your assignment today will be to complete this worksheet on the 1920s and the Great Depression, then outline an essay on how the events in the 20s helped to cause the Depression. All of this will be due on Friday."

Most of the students groaned when they heard the assignment, but they realized that it could be worse. The class broke off into groups and began on the work that was just given to them.

Cory smiled to himself as he returned to his desk. The real reason why he gave his class this assignment instead of his standard lecture was because he needed more time to grade essays from his other classes.

It didn't seem to take long for the bell to ring, dismissing class. Everyone gathered their belongings and some of the students headed for the door as fast as they could, eager for homeroom.

Mr. Matthews stood up at his desk, looked at Lucas who was still packing his things, and said, "Mr. Friar, would you mind staying behind for a moment?"

_**A/N #2: Another cliffhanger for ya. Hope you guys enjoyed it! If you could leave a review on your way out that would be great. Until next time!**_


	14. Talking it Over

_**A/N: It's been a long weekend, but I'm happy I found the time to write for you guys. Writing this chapter actually helped me stay sane. Enjoy!**_

_**Guest Reviewer Emily: Because I love your reactions to them, but sometimes it's because that's just the best place for me to stop so there aren't too many POV switches in one chapter. If I continued on in the last chapter it would have been difficult for me to write that, so it's here :)**_

_**Disclaimer: Won't ever own it**_

The bell rang, dismissing class. Lucas began to gather his papers and placed them inside his folder. Before he could rise from his seat along with his friends, the voice of Mr. Matthews reached his ears.

"Mr. Friar, would you mind staying behind for a moment?"

Lucas looked up at his teacher with confusion. He hadn't done anything that he was aware of. _Maybe I forgot about a paper or something,_ he reasoned. Lucas gave Mr. Matthews a silent nod and watched the rest of his class walk into the hallway. Before Riley left, she looked back at Lucas, then walked just outside of the doorway to wait for him.

Knowing Riley would try and listen in, Mr. Matthews walked over to the door, closed it, returned to his desk, and sat on the edge of it. When he looked at Lucas, he could tell that the teen was confused on why he was asked to stay behind.

"Is everything alright with you, Lucas?"

Lucas raised an eyebrow. _What prompted this?_ he thought before replying, "Why wouldn't it be, sir?"

Cory crossed his arms. "That's not what I asked you. Are you okay?"

Lucas nodded. "Yeah."

Cory let out his breath. From what he had witnessed in the teen's recent behavior, he wasn't buying Lucas' answer. Either Lucas was trying to hide something that was bothering him (and doing a terrible job at it), or he didn't realize his actions were noticed.

He stood up and walked closer to the teen. "I'm not so sure that you are."

Lucas looked up at Mr. Matthews, now very confused at what his teacher was saying. "How do you mean?"

"You see, I know you would protect my daughter at all costs. However, I highly doubt any harm will come over her from food," he commented, trying to make a joke over what happened earlier. It didn't appear to work as he looked at Lucas' expression, so he continued on. "I know you wouldn't have reacted that way if it wasn't for a very good reason. Also, ever since you started coming over early, you seemed to have stayed by Riley as much as you can, as if you're trying to protect her from something. So I'm asking you again, are you alright? Is there something that needs to be brought to my attention?"

Lucas' face fell when he heard Mr. Matthews' words. Ever since the nightmare, he felt obligated to protect Riley, even more so than usual. He thought he found a way to protect her without anyone noticing. Clearly, he was wrong, and the dream had been governing his actions more than he thought.

He looked down at his hands. "No, sir… it's nothing," Lucas replied in a low tone. He wasn't even convinced with his own answer, so he highly doubted Mr. Matthews would accept it.

"If it involves Riley, I think it is something," Cory paused and gathered his thoughts. "Does it have to deal with the shooting?"

Lucas sighed. "You could say that." There was a brief silence before Lucas asked, "Is there anything else?"

Cory nodded. "Just one thing. I don't know if Riley's noticed this change at all. If she has she hasn't mentioned it to me. But I think you should tell her; she may be able to help."

Lucas gathered his books and nodded. "I will," he responded as he got up and headed out of the door. Once out in the hallway, he saw Riley standing just outside the doorway.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, her brown eyes filled with concern.

"Yeah, about that… I need to talk to you about what your father just spoke to me about after school. Don't worry, it's nothing bad."

Riley nodded. "Okay," she responded, but the concern still remained.

Lucas wrapped his arm around her shoulder and the two headed to their next class.

* * *

><p>There was silence between the two teens as Lucas walked Riley home. Lucas was trying to figure out how to tell Riley about the way he's been acting, but he couldn't figure out how to start off. <em>Don't plan, just tell her,<em> a voice said in his mind, so Lucas decided to listen to that voice.

"Riley, have you noticed anything… different in my behavior lately?"

"You mean regarding your reaction this morning?" she asked.

Lucas sighed and nodded. "Yeah."

Riley shrugged. "I mean I thought it was a bit extreme, but if you were caught more off guard than I was then it's understandable."

Lucas stopped walking and shook his head. "No… well, I mean I was caught off guard, but there's a better reason for the way I acted—or rather how I've been acting in the past few days."

She faced him. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" _Have I been missing something obvious?_ Riley couldn't help but think.

Lucas took Riley's hands in his. "Look, what I'm about to say may sound rather strange, but humor me, okay?" he asked.

Riley nodded. "Go on," she whispered.

"A few nights ago, I saw something that I hope I never have to live. It's my worst nightmare. I dreamed that I lost you in a much more painful way than if you lost me that night. And I felt that it happened because I wasn't protecting you like I should have been, hence my coming early to see you. Yes, I wanted to see you more since I've been busy trying to catch up on work, but I wanted to make sure you were okay. I needed to stay close by in case you needed me. I didn't want you getting hurt."

"I'm sorry that I didn't realize this sooner—"

Lucas shook his head. "Don't apologize. I was trying to hide it, but your dad caught on."

Riley inhaled deeply and gathered her thoughts. "Lucas, everything is going to be okay. It was just a dream; it's not going to happen."

"It's hard to think that when every time I close my eyes I see you bloodied and lifeless in my arms, Riley!" he exclaimed, trying to keep the tears from flowing.

Her eyes widened at Lucas' words. At first, she didn't know what to say. What _could_ she say? But from somewhere inside her, Riley found the words. She didn't know where they came from, but that didn't matter. "Listen to me. What you saw in the nightmare _isn't_ going to happen. It's expected to have some sort of aftershock following what you've been through. Besides, how many times have you told me that you would do anything to protect me? I don't know all of what happened, but I'm pretty sure you never would have let that happen."

What Riley said was true. He would never let that happen to her. That, and there were several things that were missing or were just out of whack in that dream to begin with.

"You're right… but I know it's going to be a while before my mind realizes that."

Riley released Lucas' hands and wrapped her arms around him. "That's what I'm here for."

Lucas returned the hug and kissed the top of her head. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too."

_**A/N #2: Hope you guys enjoyed the penultimate chapter! I was originally going to have the latter half be the final chapter, but I thought it fit better here, and now I have a great idea on how to wrap up this story. If you could leave a review on your way out that would be great :) Until next time!**_


	15. It's a Pretty Good Day

_**A/N: Thank you all so much for making this story such a huge success (for me at least)! It's been so much fun working on this story for all of you. But alas, all good things must come to an end. And now, for the final chapter of this story. I hope you enjoy it!**_

_**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own it.**_

*_One Month Later*_

Lucas opened his eyes and smiled. Today he was going to be able to spend the day with his friends. He got ready for the day ahead of him, and then looked out the window. The sky was covered with gray clouds, making the whole city look depressing. But that was okay. It was another day that he was breathing and he was going to be able to enjoy it with the people that he cared about most. Lucas picked up his sunglasses, just in case, and headed out of the apartment to pick up Riley.

The air that morning was cool and crisp. Lucas inhaled the air and sighed. That morning, the air felt great inside his lungs as he continued on his way.

Once he approached the Matthews' apartment, Lucas saw Riley sitting on the steps waiting for him. He stopped right in front of her, and once she saw him, Riley stood up, happy to see him.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hey," he replied.

"Maya texted me just before you got here. She said her and Farkle would meet us at the diner."

Lucas took ahold of Riley's hand. "Sounds good to me," he responded as he placed her hand in the crook of his arm and began to lead her down the sidewalk.

Ever since they got together, Lucas saw that he was lucky to have someone like Riley in his life. It wasn't until a month ago that he realized _how_ lucky he was to have her. Riley was able to help him through the toughest part of his recovery. It wasn't always easy, especially with all the highs and lows he felt over the past few weeks, but it didn't matter. Riley was always there for him, ready to help him over the next obstacle. He was truly blessed.

It didn't take them long to reach the diner. Once they were there, both Riley and Lucas quickly scanned the place to see if Farkle and Maya were already there. When they didn't see them, Lucas led Riley over to a booth.

Once the two were settled, Riley looked up at Lucas. "How are you doing?"

"Good… better now," he replied as he wrapped Riley in his arms and kissed the top of her head. For the most part, Lucas was pretty much recovered. However, the nightmares would return to haunt him. Majority of the time, it would be the same one. The rest of them were slightly altered, but they all had the same results. Whenever this happened, Lucas would text Riley, and then Riley would call him back once she had woken up enough to be able to help. They developed this system soon after Riley found out about his first nightmare. It was working, too. The last time Lucas had one of those dreams was about a week ago, and the frequency that they occurred reduced significantly. Lucas was hoping that he would be out of the woods very soon.

It didn't take much longer for Maya and Farkle to show up at the diner, hand in hand. They sat across the table from Riley and Lucas and caught their breaths.

"Sorry we're late," Farkle began. "I had a tough time trying to get _this_ one out of bed," he said as he nudged Maya in the side.

Maya rolled her eyes. "Excuse me for liking my sleep, especially on weekends. Besides, how you woke me up wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do."

Riley's eyes widened. She knew far too well that there was a right way and several wrong ways to wake Maya up. "Uh on, what did he do?"

"Scared me half to death by banging on my window," Maya responded while turning to Farkle. "You're lucky that window was closed."

Farkle threw up his hands in defense. "Hey, you didn't respond to any of my twenty texts. I was coming over to pick you up like I said I was, and I was going to get you up one way or the other. Granted I didn't expect a pillow to be thrown in my direction with great precision…"

"It was five texts within the span of ten minutes," Maya deadpanned.

Riley and Lucas tried to keep from laughing at their two friends' argument. They all knew that Maya needed more time to get up in the morning, but apparently only Riley knew to what extent, thanks to Auggie trying to wake Maya up one morning.

"Yeah," Riley said, "Maya needs at least twenty minutes to get out of bed. And that's on a good day."

"Duly noted for future reference," Farkle replied as he picked up his menu.

The four friends glanced over their menus and placed their orders when their waitress came over a few minutes later. Maya was the only one out of them to order off the breakfast menu, considering she woke up not that long ago.

Their waitress returned soon after with their drinks, and then left them to take care of her other customers.

Immediately, Maya and Riley began chatting about their events. Neither of the boys could keep up with what was being said between the girls, so they started their own conversation.

"So, how have you been doing?" Farkle asked.

"Still improving," Lucas replied, and then took a sip of his drink. He told Farkle some of what he's been going through a couple of weeks ago. The only one who knew the details was Riley, considering she was directly involved. "I never realized how much that event affected me, but I have great friends to help me through it."

Farkle nodded. "It also helps having a great girlfriend like Riley to help you through it, no matter what time of day."

Lucas nodded, wrapped his arm around Riley, and brought her in closer to him. This caused Riley let out a surprised squeal.

"Hey! I was talking to Maya!" she exclaimed.

Lucas looked into Riley's eyes. "And you can't do that from here?"

"Not if we're talking about you," Riley teased.

"Were you?"

Riley shook her head. "No, we weren't."

"We were talking about Farkle," Maya added.

"What!" Farkle exclaimed as he turned to face his girlfriend.

This reaction earned a great laugh from both Riley and Maya. "Don't worry, Farkle," Maya finally said after the laughter died down. "I was just teasing you."

Farkle glared at Maya, but he wasn't able to stay that way for very long. He took Maya's hand in his and shook his head.

"You know you love me," Maya said, then decided to change the subject, "So, who's ready for Thanksgiving break?"

All four friends raised their hands at the same time. It had been a long semester, and it wasn't even over yet.

"I can't wait to have time to recharge," Riley commented. "I feel like all the teachers think that you only have their class, so they dump all of this work on you! Then you have to pick and choose what you're going to turn in. I'm surprised I haven't fallen asleep in one of my classes yet. I know I've come close!"

"Amen to that!" Maya exclaimed.

"Oh come on guys," Farkle began. "It's not that bad."

Three pairs of eyes fell on the genius. Farkle's eyes shifted from Maya, to Riley, to Lucas, then back to Maya. "Okay, maybe it is a bit like that."

Their waitress walked over towards their booth with a tray in her hand. She set the friends' food in front of them and smiled. "Enjoy your meal!"

"Thanks!" the four of them replied, and they began eating.

They ate in silence for majority of the meal, all of them too hungry to pause and talk for a bit. Once Maya finished majority of her food, she looked up at Riley and Lucas and asked, "Any plans for after this?"

Lucas and Riley looked at each other and shrugged. "Other than walking around the city for a while, not really," Lucas replied.

"We're heading over to the cinemas, you're welcome to join us if you like," Farkle offered.

Riley shook her head. "Maybe over break. You two enjoy your time together."

"You both sure?"

Lucas nodded. He loved hanging out with his friends, but after this, all he wanted to do was spend time with Riley. "Yeah, you two have fun."

The waitress returned. "Will you be ordering any dessert today?"

All four friends looked at each other and shook their hands. "No thank you," Riley replied. "Not today."

She smiled. "Have a good day," the waitress replied as she placed the check face down on their table and removed their plates.

Both Lucas and Farkle reached for the check and grabbed it at the same time. Neither friend was willing to let go of it despite the glares they gave each other. Finally, the bill split down the center, and the two young men glanced at their half.

"Ha!" Lucas exclaimed triumphantly, seeing that he had the half with the check's total. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet to get out the cash he needed.

Farkle slumped in his seat, not happy that Lucas beat him to the check yet again. For once he'd like to pay for one of their outings. "Fine, you get the check, but I'm paying the tip!"

Lucas chuckled as he placed his wallet back in his pocket. "Alright, buddy."

Once Farkle had placed the appropriate amount of money on the table, the four friends stood up, paid for their meal, and headed out of the diner.

"It was nice doing that again," Riley commented.

Maya nodded. "Yeah, it's been a while since the four of us have done something like that."

"That's the truth," Farkle agreed. "Hey Maya, we better be going if we're going to catch that movie."

"Okay," she responded. Riley and Maya exchanged hugs before the two couples headed on their separate ways.

As Riley and Lucas made their way down the sidewalk, the sun came out from behind the clouds. The sudden change in light made Riley squint unwillingly. Knowing he brought his sunglasses for a reason, Lucas unclipped them from his shirt collar and handed them to Riley, to which she gladly accepted them.

Once she put them on, Riley looked up at her boyfriend and smiled. "How do I look?"

Lucas returned the smile. "Like the person I love," he responded as he wrapped his arm around her.

"You're no fun, you know that?" she joked.

"I beg to differ!" Lucas replied in mock annoyance.

Both the teens laughed as they continued down the sidewalk.

"How does going to the park sound before I walk you home?" Lucas asked.

"That sounds great."

The two headed into the park and walked around it in silence, enjoying the scenery and each other's company. Sometimes, there was no need for words, and this moment was one of them. After a while, they came across a bench and sat down. Riley leaned her head on Lucas' shoulder and let out a pleased sigh.

Lucas looked down at Riley and smiled. He was blessed to have her in his life. Every day that he gets to see her is a good day. Every time he gets to spend time with her, it's a great day. Every time he gets to say 'I love you', and she replies 'I love you, too', it's an even better day. Lucas brought Riley a bit closer to him and sighed. He knew that he needed Riley in his life. It would kill him if he ever lost her for any reason. Yes, he knew that he was still young yet, but he hoped that someday in the future he would ask her a certain question that would guarantee them being in each other's lives forever.

Lucas took ahold of Riley's hand and gave it a gently squeeze. _It's a pretty good day… it's a pretty good life with you._

_**A/N #2: Thank you again to all who have read this story! I couldn't have done it without all of your support. It's been such a crazy time, and you helped me stick to this. Keep an eye out for my future works! I have another multichapter brewing, and I will be posting a special one shot on Christmas. ~cowgirlangel95 out!**_


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